The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-07-12
BEN HOLIDAYS CAREER.
The Ups and Downs of . Man Of More Thar
Average Business Daring.

The Ups and Downs of q Man of More Than
Average Business Daring.
Chicago Herald.
Ben Halliday. of the best known charac
ters in the far West, died in Portland, Ore. .
few days ago. The immediate cause of his
death was paralysis. from which he had been
suffering for some time. He had been uncon-
scious for several days. and up to his last mo-
ments was unable to recognize his
wife and children. The career of Ben Hall
day was that Of = remarkable man.. He
was native Of Kentucky: and was probably %
when fifteen years Of nge. and located in Mis-
souri, In 1S49 or 1850 he settled at Weston,
and for several years was sncaeed In the drug
suit for a more exciting life still further on
the frontier, and in 1852 made his first
OF . train of goods He found NO
market in Salt Lake, and moved with the train
on to California, where the value of his goods
grew as if by maeic. His venture was far moro
widest dreams, and the result was the found
alton of a fortune Becoming interested iE San
Francisco property, he soon grew wealthy and
influential. and finally secured a contract to
supply the Pacific Mail Company with FRESH
beef. This brought him income OF from
So. 600 to 81 900 per month. and was followed by
other contracts even more profitable, in which
the government and various overland companies
contributed to his increasing fortune.
Halliday eventually became interested with w.
H. Russell. wel-Known Mssourian. in several
government contracts and cleared fabulous sums
of money. But Halliday, who was on the western
end of the continent and manipulated the va
rlous DEALS managed to capture most of the
profits, while Russell and his co-partners in
Missouri and the East furnished the principal
iors g. Waddell, of st. Louis. finally failed at
the opening of the war, and Halliday generous
ly kept everything which the firm owned west
of the Missouri
A reorganization finally effected and the
firm of Russell, Jones & Cartwright and Alexan-
der Mayers became sole owners of the Pixies
fwovVr Atnhro ov,6
Leaven worth to Denver. The government being
behind in pay to the company, Russell, a
Democrat, deemed it prudent to make Halliday
president of the Overland company.
Halliday accepted. and advanced $1,000
or. $4,000 to fit up the line,
and took chattel mortgage the whole
town III Kansas, and Halliday soon captured the
line, which had previously been invoiced at
about 500, 600. He afterward sold it to the
Wells-Fargo Express Company for s., 600. 600
Halliday's first wife and four children by her
all dead. The wife was An estimable woman,
charming in appearance and character Their
two daughters, Polite and Jennie, each married
French Count with more title than any
but both had been sought and welded
for their wealth and their married lives
proved unhappy. Jennie. the eldest. died
on Pullman car on her way East from Cali
The other died at New York; hotel. The two
boys, Joseph and Benjamin, who were we'll
known in SL LOUIS among the young olOOus Ok
their day, died while they were yet young men.
All the children buried the Ophir
farm, In Westchester county. n. Y,
beside their mother. in q private chapel
which she had built. Ophir Farm embraces
about a thousand acres which is finely
improved after the French chateau style, and in
her will the mother left 1t to her daughters with
the stipulation that their deaths it should not
go to their French husbands. This provision
was the cause of long litigation, the Frenchmen
making strenuous efforts secure its posses
sion II finally passed into the possession Of
John Roach, the ship builder.
OF recent years Halliday has been vigorously
pushing claim against the government for dep
rotations by the Indians against the Pixies Peak
and Overland Mail Company in 1S63-64 Several
hundred Thousand dollars was involved, and
Halliday has spent considerable time in Wash
ington pressing the matter and acting lobby
list for others He Was a we'll known character
deemed successful lobbyist he never succeeded
in getting his claim through.
Halliday was q large owner in the Oregon Rail-
way and Navigation Company and Oregon I'm
provement Company, and. as contractor, built
several railroads in that part of the country. He
held large amount of Oregon railroad securi-
ties, and for safe keeping placed them in his
brothers hands. His brother, peculiar az
himself. evidently doubted the legality of the
methods by which they had been secured. and to
settle the matter kept them himself. This led
to a litigation between the brothers. and the
cases have been pending for several years in the
Oregon and California courts.